​Disney welcomes jump to light speed when it comes to Star Wars, Marvel and other creative properties

For some reason, someone writes an article like “‘Star Wars’: Why Disney Needs to Slow Down” about every 3 months (and I feel like it might be the same guy regurgitating the same fears over and over again). Every time I see the title, I get exasperated because it is the exact wrong thinking when it comes to any creative endeavor, and that includes any of Disney’s businesses. There are lots of good platitudes to use: Strike while the iron is hot. There are also a lot of good economic reasons why slowing down isn’t viable: multibillion dollar movie tie-ins; Star Wars ‘Rogue One’ went over $1 billion more than half of which was generated in the U.S. according to Box Office Mojo.

But none of these reasons are actually pertinent. What is pertinent are the fundamental rules of creativity. Creativity is messy. Creative people and organizations fail a lot (Ed Catmull says that Pixar has been able to keep those failures in house). It takes 1000 ideas to have one good idea. Fear suffocates creativity.​Disney’s film production schedule and the speed that they are engaged in allows people to forget the failures and mistakes. If something like Alice Through the Looking Glass were to crash and burn during a year when Disney didn’t release 5 or 6 other super good blockbusters, the company would have suffered through a stock market decline. No one remembers that film, and they don’t remember The Finest Hours. They just remember the good stuff.

​Star Wars FatigueThe first argument is that having a movie every year will generate a malaise among general audiences. There will be a buildup of Star Wars fatigue and the general public will get tired of seeing a new Star Wars story every year. This ignores the fact that any kind of story can be told in the Star Wars Universe. It also ignores the fact that Star Wars books topped the best seller lists for decades. Star Wars fatigue (or superhero fatigue) are just lazy writing and lazy thinking. No one talks about sports movie fatigue (the plots are always the same), period drama fatigue or any other genre fatigue.

The only way people get tired of the stories is if the stories aren’t well done. If Star Wars turns into a special effects fest and forgets that it is characters that drive the story; there might be a decline. The good news is that one bad movie won’t destroy the Rebellion, and if the next movie is good enough, it will wipe out the memory of the bad one. Look at what happen to the prequels after The Force Awakens. You don’t remember them? There’s a reason for that.

The UnknownNo one knows what releasing a movie every year will do to the legacy and appeal of Star Wars. This is fear of the unknown. Creative people face the unknown every time they try something new. Without trying it, Disney will never know if it’s going to work or not. If the appeal for Star Wars dies down in the future, Disney can pull back from its schedule and wait. However, if it works, Disney will have another source of income to rival and surpass the Marvel and Pixar powerhouses. Not doing something because it isn’t sure that it will succeed is the best way to guarantee failure. BTW, legacy doesn’t pay the bills.​The rest of the slideshow reiterates oversaturation and the unknown while throwing in the interest of the casual movie goer. If the story is good, the casual movie goer will go see the film. Disney can’t be afraid of failing or making mistakes with the franchise. Instead, it needs to move forward like Lord Vader, with swiftness and confidence knowing that the coming films can force choke any inferior offering.